San Diego's Top 10 Breweries

Awash in suds

To name ten great breweries in a county sporting over 70 operating brewhouses is no easy feat. Breweries of all sizes and types dot San Diego like droplets of condensation on a cold pint glass. Craft beer adventurers can make a day of brewery hopping no matter what part of the county they’re in. And, chances are, they’ll walk away satisfied.

Having traveled throughout the country in search of craft beer, I can say with certainty that ours is a special suds scene. That’s a great thing, but it makes selecting my top ten a daunting activity. In doing so, I focused on breweries that bring great variety and consistent quality to the local scene. Many of my top ten have been doing that for years, but some rather new operations also made the cut.

Societe Brewing Company

More than a dozen new breweries have opened in the past two years. With that many rookies fighting for recognition, it takes a lot to stand out. And a lot is what this operation, the product of brewer buddies Travis Smith and Douglas Constantiner, bring to the local brewing scene. While that compliment certainly extends to Societe’s lines of highly botanical hoppy beers, style-massaging Belgian ales, stouts, and (soon) sours, it goes beyond their products and back to their make-up. Smith and Constantiner have earned reputations as “the guys who are doing it the right way” for being big-hearted, giving, conscious supporters of the local beer scene and the people within it. They recognize the San Diego beer scene for the exceptional assemblage it is and go out of their way to make it a better place where the two things that matter most — beer and people — are concerned. And it’s working big time.

AleSmith

Owner and brewmaster Peter Zien is a certified Master Beer Judge, which means he knows his stuff…and it shows. Though AleSmith’s diverse line of beers span styles originating from England, Scotland, Belgium and the good ol’ U.S. of A., they all share two key qualities — delicious, to-style flavor and incredible consistency. The latter is what separates the good breweries from the great breweries. If there was ever a knock on this operation, it’s that they didn’t often deviate from their year-round offerings and annual specialties. But after expanding their tasting room last year, Zien and company began extended cask offerings and second-running versions of their beers onsite. They’ve also begun packaging barrel-aged versions of several of their core beers as well as other favorites from their archives, leaving no room for complaints among craft beer fans.

Alpine Beer Co.

It’s easy to assume many of the motorists on the stretch of the Kumeyaay Highway (Insterstate 8) east of El Cajon are on a gambler’s trek. But it’s a safe bet a heady percentage are on a pilgrimage to Alpine for some of the world’s most beloved West Coast–style India pale ales. Though small and far flung, this tiny diner-like BBQ brewpub is recognized as a must-visit-before-you-die spot by die-hard craft beer enthusiasts. For many, a direct visit is the only way to get a taste of beers like the spicy and tropical Nelson or hop harbingers such as Duet, Pure Hoppiness, and Exponential Hoppiness. Due to its minuscule size, Alpine can’t produce nearly enough beer to satisfy the thirst of a hop-hungry market. Fortunately, thanks to teaming agreements with local brewery Green Flash and Minnesota operation Cold Spring Brewery, production is about to triple.

No San Diego brewing team covers as many brewing styles as Ballast Point.

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

Few, if any local companies produce as many different beers as this combination brewing and distilling operation. And absolutely no San Diego brewing team covers as many styles — ales to lagers, IPAs to imperial stouts, smoked beers to chili beers, barrel-aged beers to cask ales — while never coming in under par. In fact, like that annoying bespectacled kid in high school with no life and the 4.5 grade point average, Ballast Point excels in everything they set their mind to. Locations in Scripps Ranch, Linda Vista, and a kiosk at Petco Park make their beers easy to experience. Even so, more locations are on the way. In addition to a recently secured corner spot in Little Italy that will house their pilot brewery, they’re also looking at building one of, if not the biggest-ever breweries in San Diego in the not-too-distant future.

Demand for Green Flash brew is so high that the company broke ground on a second brewery in Virginia Beach.

Image by Bill Grolz

Green Flash Brewing Company

How did this operation go from a company on the brink of failure nearly a decade ago to one of the fastest growing brewing companies in San Diego? The answer is simple: they hired a talented brewmaster and put out quality beer that matched locals’ tastes (read: hoppy, Belgian, high flavor). The rest took care of itself. And not just locally. The rest of the country has developed a liking for Green Flash’s West Coast style IPAs, and San Diego takes on everything from Belgian beers to English barley wines. Demand for Green Flash brew is so high that earlier this year the company broke ground on a second brewery in Virginia Beach, Virginia, allowing Green Flash to represent America’s Finest City from the other side of the country.

Latitude 33 Brewing Company

Maybe it’s the writer in me that appreciates the long-winded stories, both historically based and completely fabricated, which accompany each of the beers this relatively new operation has to offer. More likely, it’s a line of beers that, while seemingly simple, have a great deal of logic behind their conception and skill in their manufacture. Brewmaster Kevin Buckley dares to go with an IPA that is as much British as it is Californian. Instead of producing an everyday hefeweizen or orange-and-coriander-flavored Belgian witbier, he does an American wheat ale with a flavor profile all its own. His brown ale is spiked with rye. A vanilla porter, unlike so many others, is savory instead of sweet. I’m a fan of people who do things differently so long as they do them in a way that makes sense and rewards the customer, and I believe Latitude 33 fits that bill.

Good start but since this list does not include Mother Earth it lacks credibility. While Rip Current have a good thing going; they aren't even bottling yet so too soon for them to be here. And Alesmith started out strong, but has since been passed by other new combers; like Rip Current, and shouldn't be on the list either. l call for a re-do. Switch Alesmith out for M.E.

We went to Mother Earth a few weeks ago. They had 10 beers on tap. 7 were IPAs. Each was more enjoyable than the next, all were different, and the one l thought we'd like the least; was the Best. Way to go and keep up the good brew!

All my friends that come in from out of town all agree, AleSmith hands down, good list. Societe rocks! Yes, missing might be 10b- Coronado and 10c- Modern Times. Karl Strauss (Santa Fe St) is making a come back as well. Best newer breweries- Benchmark, Fall, Pure, Council and Finest (Butchers), etc!